National Middle Distance Championships 2007 - The Vitruvian (Derbyshire)
After a somewhat disappointing mid-season period it was time to try and get my yeah back on track. The national Middle distance champs offered me just that chance and with them being held on the Vitruvian course (a race I won and broke the course record for last year) I was hoping to add a National Title to my name at the same time.
I'd had a very hard week at work leading into the race with 3 post midnight finishes (got to love I.T.), but I'd trained hard up until then and my coach Brigitte Swales had also worked hard on fixing some of my previous nutritional mistakes. I was feeling as ready as I could.
The swim started fairly well and I settle down nicely having decided to swim on my own to avoid any "wrong feet" miss-pacing mistakes again. I could see the front swimmers slowly pulling away, but I was confident I was swimming solidly (for me at least) and was happy to let them go. My Orca 3.8 wet suit is so comfortable that for a change, it feels good to swim hard and with no tightness in the suit I know I won't waste any energy in doing so. Coming out of the water I looked at my watch expecting to see 26 minutes, I was shocked to see 29! But I'd lead the 2nd pack all the way, so I relaxed and put it out my mind, it didn't matter now.
I'd decided to ride my carbon Sigma Nemesis as the bike course is quite lumpy. Dan at the shop had very kindly swapped the TT bars onto it for me the day before and I had a disk wheel on the back. I knew that with the ultra-light Nemesis I'd make good time in catching up the fish (fast swimmers). On to the course, head down and straight away I felt great. The nemesis is such a quick bike, especially for a normal "roadie" frame. I had no idea how far down I was so just stuck to my power limits using my SRM's kindly loaned me by Roehampton Uni. and focused on the road ahead. The clear fairly still early morning, meant that on the flats I was able to hold 50kph comfortably at my goal wattage (I told you that bike's fast). By the start of lap 2 of the bike my support crew yelled I was now in 2nd and about 2:30 down on the leader. I was happy just to stick at my goal wattage though and let that time gap close on its own. By 60k my brother at the roadside yelled I was 1 minute down, no need to change my tack-ticks and by about 70k I was race leader. I knew however that there were some really strong cyclists and runners behind me and wasn't about to ease off and let them catch me up. Coming into T2 I looked down and saw 2hr05 on my SRM'S and 2hr30 something total time on my watch. I felt confident that if I could run under 1hr20 for the half marathon the title would be mine. Having run 1hr15 here last year I knew this should be possible despite not being in great run shape.
I set off with my 3 energy gels in hand and quickly polished the first one off. The nutrition plan my coach had given seamed to be working perfectly. My legs felt good and my energy levels were still high. I had no idea how far I was in the lead but as I ran past the crowd in the first few hundred meters Bridge yelled a near 2 minute time split so far and that no one else had come in after me yet.... My confidence grew and I "relaxed" into my pace. As I ran down the other side of the only small hill on the course, about 1.5k into the run I heard the race announcer shouting over the event PA system that the second placed athlete was just entering T2. As he left I heard her give his time deficit to the crowd.....4 mins 48s, the race was mine to loose. Apart from the heavy coating of sheep pooh on the early part of the course the first 10.5k run lap passed without a problem. I timed the gap to 2nd place at the end of lap 1 and was pleased to see it had grown to 6 minutes. However I knew I was running slower and slower. My sub par run fitness was going to make the last 6 miles really hurt, but knowing I had the time cushion meant there was no need to panic. The last part of the run hurt a lot but with my first National Title waiting for me at the finish it was pain I could happily bear! I crossed the line in almost exactly the time I'd targeted, 3hr55mins55s. The guys behind me put in great performances and made the victory all the more satisfying knowing that I'd beaten former national champions and numerous Ironman top 10 athletes.
I've got to say a HUGE thank you to my coach Brigitte Swales who's been a rock of support, help and knowledge; Chad and Geoffrey for their support as well! Also to my sponsors Sigma Sport and Orca who provide me with the best kit possible to race on and in. Thanks also to Dr Forrester for fixing my SRM's so quickly this week.
I'm quitting work in 2 weeks in order to give The World 70.3 Champs a really good crack. If I can avoid riding into a traffic cone there this year, hopefully I'll make this all worth while and get a result that could help me step up to the next level and truly compete as a full time pro!
Happy racing and thanks for reading.
